2025 NFL Draft Risers and Fallers: UCF RB Harvey trending up, Ohio State QB Howard trending down post Combine

NBC Sports

04-03-2025

Indianapolis is the annual proving ground for NFL Draft hopefuls to have their athleticism tested with draft slots hanging in the balance. Several players were helped by their performances last weekend, while others saw their draft profiles take a hit. Here are some notable risers and fallers from the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.
Kyle Dvorchak,
NFL Combine Running Back Risers
Tuten (5'092'/206) was banged up for a good portion of the 2024 season but has solidified his NFL caliber traits by crushing the RB group with a 4.32s 40-time (99th%), with Jaydon Blue finishing a distant 2nd with a 4.38s 40. He also paced the rushers with a 1.49s 10-yard split, while being the only running back to clear 40' in the Vert with an impressive 40.5' jump. Toss in a rock solid 98th percentile 10'10' broad jump and there was a lot to like from Tuten's Combine testing. If there's a knock, it's that he only posted a 4.41s Shuttle which is an uninspiring 35th% mark that gives some pause as to his stop-start ability given his relatively light 206 pound frame. An excellent 4.4 YAC average and 134.1 PFF elusiveness rating this season help to alleviate some of the agility concerns that arise from his lackluster shuttle run, with Tuten now potentially elevating himself into Day 2 consideration.
Harvey (5'080'/205) was one of my favorite under-the-radar running backs of the last two years in regard to his NFL Draft potential. His 91.1 PFF run grade in 2023 and 89.5 run grade last year put him in elite company with Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson and Ashton Jeanty as 2025 draftees who have eclipsed the 89th% in both campaigns. He ran a 4.40s 40-yard dash (97th%), with a 10'7' Vert (95th%) and 38' Broad Jump (91st%) to pump some air into Harvey's draft stock. He also threw up 16 reps of 225 pounds in order to back up the 143 tackles he broke over the last two years and 3.9 YAC from 2024. Throw in a frenetic, aggressive play style with his solid 1.3 yards per route average from 2023 and 2024, and Harvey has legitimate R4 potential come late April.
Giddens checked in at just over 6-feet tall and 212 pounds, which puts him in the same relative size ballpark as Kansas RB Devin Neal (5'111/213) and South Carolina's Raheim Sanders (6'000/217). Giddens proved his athleticism with a 4.43s 40-yard dash (94th%) and 1.53s 10-yard split (90th%) with 96th+ percentile marks in the Vert (39.5') and broad jump (10'10'). He averaged a strong 4.14 YAC and has room to pack another 5+ pounds onto his long, linear frame in order to handle the rigors of NFL interior running. The most prevalent concerns with Giddens stem from his somewhat upright running style and troubling five drops in 2024 in the pass game, which will not stand at the next level. Giddens looks like a credible R3-R4 option after his strong Combine showing.
Other RB Risers
4.46s 40-yard dash
10'10' broad jump
38' Vert
18 bench reps
4.48s 40-yard dash
38.5' Vert
11'0' broad jump (1st)
4.52s 40-yard dash
6.90s 3-Cone (1st)
4.06 Shuttle (1st)
Iowa State Wide Receivers
Noel (5'102'/194) has capitalized on his standout Senior Bowl and Combine performances more than any receiver in the class. He ran a 95th percentile 4.39s 40 in addition to leading all wideouts with a 41.5' vertical, 11'2' broad jump and 23 bench reps, displaying a rare combination of elite speed and strength. The Cyclones' slot weapon (70% slot rate) improved his ADOT from 7.7 yards in 2023 to 12.2 yards this season, extending his range and winning in the intermediate and downfield levels more often. He excelled in averaging 3.25 yards per route against Zone coverage while securing 13 contested targets this year. If there's an incongruent metric that is at odds with Noel's athletic profile, he has only broken 8 tackles on 146 receptions over the last two seasons for a rather pedestrian 4.2 YAC, which is actually down from a pretty solid 6.9 YAC in 2023. As a slot receiver in the NFL, he will have to find ways to extend plays more often than he did in 2024, but his elite athleticism indicates Noel has the tools to do so.
While his teammate Jaylin Noel has dominated the pre-draft process thus far, Higgins also posted some of the most impressive height/weight adjusted numbers from the WR group. At 6'041' and 214 pounds, the Cyclones' deep threat ran a blistering 4.47s 40-yard dash (83rd%) to go with a 39' vertical and 10'08' broad jump, which rank in the 93rd percentile. He boasts an arm length of 33 ⅛' which ranks as the 3rd longest set of arms in the 2025 WR class. These metrics bolster Higgins' 90.5 PFF Receiving Grade, which ranks first among all 2025 NFL Draft wideouts, and 3.13 yards per route average against man coverage. Throw in a scorching 19.14 MPH top speed in the Gauntlet drill with a 90 Next Gen Sports Athleticism score, and Higgins is likely pegged for a late-second round/early R3 selection.
Lawrence Jackson Jr.,
Other WR Risers
4.29s 40-yard dash (1st)
1.49s 10-yard split (T-1st)
No Agility or Jumping drills
4.42s 40-yard dash
13 bench reps
4.44s 40-yard dash
10'7' broad jump
Top Tight End/Offensive Lineman Risers
The Oregon tight end checked in at 6'050/247 with 32 7/8th' arms and proceeded to outrun every TE in Indianapolis with a 4.63s 40-time (91st%) and 1.55s 10-yard split. However, that was just the beginning as Ferguson also led the TE group with a skyscraping 39' Vert to go with a 10'2' broad jump that ranked 3rd in class. He made his living in college as a zone-beater who finished with the second highest yards per route vs. zone coverage (2.27 Y/RR) in the 2025 TE class and led all tight ends with 13 broken tackles last year. Ferguson's elite testing has the potential to boost his stock from late Day 3 into R3-R4 territory.
Lost amid some of the freaky performances this weekend was Red Raiders TE Jalin Conyers crushing the agility drills despite checking in at a hefty 6'034'/260 with elongated 33 ¼' arms. His 4.74s 40-yard dash (73rd%), 35.5' Vert (87th%) and 10'01' broad jump (88th%) were all exceptional marks that were comparable to TE's who weighed in 20 pounds lighter than him. However Conyers' agility drill were nothing short of outstanding, as his sensational 6.94 3-Cone (#1/93rd%) and 4.27 Shuttle (#1/85th%) led the entire TE group despite a fortified 260 pound frame. He ran 65.4% of his routes from the slot/wide in addition to boasting an 80.6 PFF run block grade that ranks 1st among the 2025 NFL Draft tight end class. Throw in a 2.73 yards per route averaged against man coverage that ranks 4th in the 2025 group, and Conyers may have catapulted himself from the 7th round/UDFA ballpark into an early Day 3 selection.
Membou went viral with his extremely vocal, and swift, 40-yard dash performance of 4.91s that ranked 2nd best in the 2025 OL class behind only UGA C Jared Wilson, who weighs 22 pounds less than the 332-pound tackle. Membou also paced the OL's with a 9'7 broad jump and placed 4th with a spry 34' vertical. The mammoth Mizzou right tackle checked in at 6'4/332 with 33 ½' arms and is one of just four OL who weighed 315+ pounds to run a sub-5.00 40-yard dash and jump over 30' on his vertical. He joins elite NFL OT's Tristan Wirfs and Trent Williams, along with his 2025 classmate OT Will Campbell of LSU. Membou was already pegged for the first round, but his standout athletic performance has likely solidified him as a top-15 talent.
Ratledge put forth an all-around impressive Combine, finishing top-5 in the 40-yard dash (4.97s = 4th), 10-yard split (1.72s = 2nd), Broad Jump (9'5' = T-2nd) and 3-Cone (7.38s = 1st). The heavily mulleted Georgia OG checked in at 6'6 ½, 308 pounds with massive 10 ⅜' hands for a sensational 9.98 Relative Athletic Score which ranks 4th All Time out of 1592 OG's to test at the Combine since 1987! Throw in a strong set of drills where he displayed fluid hips and notable agility, and it's clear that Ratledge earned himself some money in Indianapolis this week.
Other OL Risers
4.84s 40-yard dash (1st)
1.72s 10-yard split (T-2nd)
32' Vert
4.56s Shuttle (4th)
4.95s 40-yard dash (3rd)
4.66s Shuttle
Top NFL Combine Defensive Risers
4.28s 40-yard dash (Led entire Combine)
1.50s 10-yard split (T - 2nd)
39.5' Vert (93rd%)
10'09' (93rd%)
4.38s 40-yard dash (98th%)
43' Vert (99.8th%)
11'06' (99.9th%)
4.52s 40-yard dash (3rd)
1.53s 10-yard split (3rd)
10'7' broad jump (2nd)
NFL Combine Fallers
Howard was inconsistent on his intermediate-to-deep balls and never got comfortable during his portion of throwing drills. Howard may not have completed a single downfield throw in stride, and was way off the mark on the majority of his deep tosses. His 3.3% turnover worthy play rate is nearly tied with the quarterback he replaced at OSU, Kyle McCord, for the highest rate in the 2025 QB class, so he needed to show more consistency than he displayed at the Combine in order to quell some of the concerns scouts have about his ability to lead a NFL offense.
Monangai earned a good amount of pre-Combine recognition for his aggressive play style and heavy workload, having logged a staggering 498 carries for 2,542 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns over his last two seasons. While his grit and determination is beyond reproach, questions about his athletic ceiling persisted heading into Saturday's testing. Unfortunately the aforementioned concerns were well founded, as Monangai posted RB near class-lows with a 9.9' Broad Jump and 4.60s 40-yard dash. Those uninspiring testing numbers were exacerbated by his 34.5' Vert which was the 5th-worst mark in the class, for an overall RAS score of 4.39.
The OSU bell cow rolled up a staggering 285 carries for 2,062 total yards and 22 touchdowns in 2023 and was considered one of the top backs in the country entering last season after earning a sensational 90.4 run grade from PFF. While Oklahoma State's offensive line actually got a little better, going from a 55.3 run block grade in 2023 to 63.2 last year, Gordon's performance slipped. His rushing production was cut in half to 854 yards, while his yards per carry average plummeted from 6.1-to-4.5 with a 76.9 run grade among whispers of Gordon potentially playing hurt during the season. Despite a disappointing 2024, Gordon was still well regarded in some scouting circles and among those who still remember his halcyon days of 2023. Those hopes were summarily discarded when Ollie charted a 4.61s 40-yard dash, which was the second-lowest time among the 2025 running back group, and a 1.60s 10-yard split which ranked 3rd-lowest.
No running back in the nation realized a bigger rise from obscurity to the top of the running back class than Kaleb Johnson. After starting the last 7 games for Iowa in 2022, Johnson dealt with multiple injuries in 2023 and was forced to compete in fall camp with Leshon Williams to reclaim his starting job last year. While he measured at a hefty 6'010'/224 pounds, his 4.57s 40-yard dash was a 64th% mark while a 1.62 10-yard split was the lowest such speed in the entire running back class. He noticeably skipped all agility, jumping and bench press tests which doesn't inspire confidence in his overall athletic profile. While Johnson is a larger back who gets by on vision and physicality, his lack of high-end athleticism amidst some very strong performances from larger RBs like Judkins, Hampton and Damien Martinez certainly complicates his profile and will cause many analysts to drop him from the RB2-3 range down to RB5-6 on their updated boards.
Booker (6'045/321) was a first round fixture in many pre-Combine mock drafts, but that may change after his eye-popping (not in a good way) testing performance this weekend. He finished at the very back in multiple metrics including a 5.38s 40-yard dash (2nd to last), 1.96s 10-yard split (last), 27' Vert (3rd to last), 7'10' broad jump (only OL under 8'0' = last), 7.96s 3-Cone (2nd to last) and a 4.84s Shuttle (5th to last). Now, these tests don't measure his vice drop like hands that effectively neutralize opposing defenders as soon as he latches onto them. However, Booker's all-around dreadful testing marks resulted in a troubling 39th percentile Relative Athletic Score, which is going to be difficult for prospective NFL suitors to overlook when parsing 1st round OL options. While he could invariably slip out of R1 due to his athletic limitations, an OL-needy team like New England or Chicago would likely salivate at the opportunity to add Booker to their porous offensive lines in R2 if presented the opportunity.